Submission Guidelines

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Submission Guidelines
Issue 15 - Spring 2023

Call for Submissions

Vistas & Byways welcomes submissions in all genres (poetry, fiction, nonfiction, book reviews, interviews, etc.) on all topics and themes. We also have a separate section devoted to pieces on our special literary theme. We encourage you to submit material (up to three pieces) in any genre to either the special literary theme section (Dreams) and/or to other sections in the magazine (Fiction, Poetry, Nonfiction, Bay Area Stew, Inside OLLI).

We also welcome photographic submissions in our Bay Area Byways Section. We encourage you to submit photo essays (up to five photographs per essay) on this Issue's theme (The Unexpected).

Special Note: Submissions for Vistas & Byways Issue 15, Spring 2023 will be accepted in February 2023.

Celebration of OLLI's 20th Anniversary!

OLLI at SF State will be celebrating its 20th Anniversary in 2023. To help celebrate, the Inside OLLI Section will be expanded to include a 20th Anniversary Subsection consisting of essays, stories, poems, etc. about members’ OLLI experiences. Each submission to this Anniversary Subsection will be counted as one of the three literary submissions and will be reviewed for inclusion by the Editorial Board, just as regular submissions are.

We invite you to write about experiences you had in a class or on an outing, interactions with the Director and/or staff, friendships made, creative projects completed, something you learned. You can even compose a poem or story.
Example: In Issue 14’s Inside OLLI Section, Charlene Anderson’s poem, “Transit Zone,” describes her first ‘journey’ downtown to the new OLLI facilities.

Literary Submissions for Issue 15 - Spring 2023

IMPORTANT NOTE: We have changed the number of submissions allowed as well as the word limit:
Submissions: three (formerly five) in any genre or combination of genres.
Word Limit: 6,000 (formerly 10,000)
(See complete Submission Guidelines below.)

Dreams (Special Literary Theme):
We invite you to write about actual dreams, including nightmares and precog dreams, as well as things just beyond consciousness. Or, focus on aspirational dreams and hopes, such as jobs, children, learning, travel, self-improvement and creative projects. So, close your eyes (or open them wider!) and bring your readers with you as you write of Dreams.
(See complete Submission Guidelines below.)

Photographic Submissions

Photo Essays MUST be on the special photographic theme and MUST be comprised entirely of photos taken in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Bay Area Byways Section:
The Unexpected (Special Photographic Theme):
Include photos taken in the Bay Area of anything unexpected—everything from surprising beauty to incongruity (that is, breathtaking, startling, baffling, bizarre, extraordinary, strange . . .). Whenever and wherever The Unexpected appears, be ready to capture and share the image (s) with us.
Create a photo essay of up to five photos, and include a brief overall explanation or narrative describing how the scene (s) was (were) unexpected, and a caption of a few words for each photo.
Examples:
Take up to five photos of one unexpected scene.
Take up to five photos of a combination of different unexpected scenes.
(See Complete Submissions Guidelines below.)

Banner and Accent Photos: These standalone photographs (no number limit) do NOT go through the Editorial Board or Visual Arts review process and do NOT appear in the Bay Area Byways Section, but may serve as background displays for literary works, with credit given.
(See complete Submission Guidelines below.)

Cover Contest: A photograph selected from the Special Photographic Theme Section or Banner and Accent submissions will be chosen for display on the cover page of Vistas & Byways, with credit given.

General Guidelines

Vistas & Byways invites members of the OLLI at SF State community to submit original written work for publication. All work received within a submission period will be reviewed by our Editorial Board and considered for publication in the next issue of the magazine. Decisions of the Board are final.

In order to submit to Vistas & Byways, you must be a current OLLI at SF State member. If we accept your submission(s), and your membership is not current, you will be informed of that by an OLLI at SF State staff member and asked to update it.

Prose and Poetry:
IMPORTANT NOTE: We have changed the number of submissions allowed (now three, formerly five) and the word limit (now 6,000, formerly 10,000)
You can submit up to three pieces (in any genre or combination of genres).
Literary Word Limits:
Fiction: 6,000
Nonfiction (memoirs, essays and other works of nonfiction): 6,000
Poetry: No limit
Drama: 6,000
Excerpts from longer works of fiction or nonfiction: 6,000
100-Word Story: 100-word limit – New Writing Form!
Accompanying Illustrations: Up to four photographs, piece of artwork or other illustration may be submitted along with each literary submission to illustrate a written work. These illustrations MUST be original works by the author OR a specified relative or friend.

Photography:
NOTE: There are TWO types of photographic submissions, one type limited to the special photographic theme, The Unexpected, the second type not limited to that theme:
1. The Unexpected: up to five photographs reviewed by the Visual Arts Editor and, if accepted, displayed in the Bay Area Byways Section of the magazine. These photographs will also be considered for the cover.
2. Banner and Accent Photos: any number of photographs NOT subjected to our Editorial Board review process but may serve as background for literary works and may appear anywhere in the magazine, with credit given. These photographs will also be considered for the cover. These photos are NOT required to be on the photographic theme.

Cover Photo Contest:
The V&B staff will select the cover photo from photographs submitted to the Bay Area Byways Section or to Banner and Accent Photos.

Inside OLLI Reports:
We welcome material related to OLLI at SF State. This includes, but is not limited to, interviews with instructors or staff; reviews of published books by members; descriptions/reviews of events, creative projects or programs members are involved in. These Reports are not reviewed by the Editorial Board and do not count as literary submissions.

Inside OLLI 20th Anniversary Subsection (2023):
For this issue only, the Inside OLLI Section will be expanded to include a 20th Anniversary Subsection consisting of works about members’ OLLI experiences. Submissions to this Subsection will be counted as one of the three allowed submissions and reviewed by the Editorial Board, just as regular submissions are.
(See description above.)

Policy

Copyright Protection:
The contents of Vistas & Byways will NOT be submitted for copyright protection to the U.S. Copyright Office. Contributors who wish to secure copyright protection for their work (s) are responsible for filing for such copyright before submitting their work (s). Neither the Editorial Board nor Vistas & Byways assume any responsibility for loss or damages to individual authors for copyright infringement of literary or photographic work displayed in the magazine.

Editorial Note:
Vistas & Byways is staffed solely by volunteers who are members of the OLLI at SF State program. Since staff members are also participants in writing classes at OLLI at SF State, some of their own works may be included in Vistas & Byways.

Submission Procedures

Submissions for the Spring 2023 issue of Vistas & Byways will be accepted during the month of February 2023.

No submissions received after the February 28, 2023 deadline will be considered for publication.

Literary Submissions:
Literary submissions must be emailed as MS Word or rtf attachments (no other formats will be accepted).
Literary submissions should be single spaced with paragraphs flush left and a single empty line between each paragraph (no indents on first line of paragraph).
If you are submitting more than one piece, attach each one to the email SEPARATELY, not all in one file.
Indicate whether you wish your piece (s) to be submitted to our special theme section for this issue, Dreams.
(See description above.)

Accompanying Illustrations: Up to four photographs, pieces of artwork or other illustrations may be submitted along with each literary submission to illustrate a written work. These illustrations MUST be original works by the author OR a specified relative or friend. Accompanying illustrations must be in jpg or png format. List any captions you want included—captions are not required.
NOTE: Illustrations will be evaluated separately from literary pieces and may not be accepted, even if the literary piece is.

Photographic Submissions (To Be Displayed in the Bay Area Byways Section):
Original photographs must be submitted in jpg or png format.
Photographs must be on the special photographic theme: The Unexpected.
A brief overall explanation or narrative thread is required for each photo essay (no more than five photographs per photo essay).
A caption of a few words is required for each photograph.
(See description above.)

Banner and Accent Photos (To Be Displayed as Background Photos Anywhere in the Magazine):
Original standalone photographs (no number limit) must be submitted in jpg or png format.
A caption of a few words IS required for each standalone photograph. These standalone photographs should NOT include an overall explanation or narrative thread. These photos are NOT required to be on the photographic theme.
(See description above.)

If you are a first-time contributor, please include all of the following information:
Name and pen name, if different
Email address
Phone number
Short bio (120-word maximum)
Recent photograph of yourself (jpg or png)
The literary genre (e.g., short story, poetry, memoir, essay, book review) of all literary submissions and the medium (e.g., photography, acrylic, watercolor, charcoal) of all accompanying illustration submissions.

If you are a repeat contributor, the bio, picture and contact information on file will be used unless you specify that you want to update them.

Where to Submit:
Submissions and all other information should be emailed to:
[email protected]

NOTE: Vistas & Byways accepts simultaneous submissions and previously published works as long as you inform us.

If your piece or pieces are accepted, you will be informed by email. In that acceptance email, there will be a link to the following certification statement:

"I certify that this is an original piece of literary work or photography created by me. I grant the Editorial Board of Vistas & Byways permission to publish my work and agree that I will receive no payment. Correction of typos, misspellings and grammatical errors, without consultation with me, is acceptable. I certify that, if substantive changes were made, a V&B editor discussed them with me and changes were implemented only after we reached mutual agreement. I understand that my work will be published in the upcoming issue."

Questions: email to [email protected] or use our online contact form.